EMPLOYMENT-EQUITY

HUMAN RIGHTS VS HUMAN RESOURCE

From the Desk of South Asia Mail, Wednesday, July 28, 2010





Tories take aim at employment equity





Joe Friesen

The Conservative government is taking aim at an employment-equity policy that favours applicants from historically disadvantaged groups, saying no Canadian should be barred from applying for a job based on race.

Stockwell Day, president of the Treasury Board, ordered a review Thursday into a government job-application process that restricts some jobs to one or more of the four groups targeted by Canada’s employment-equity policy: aboriginal people, visible minorities, women and people with disabilities.

The move came in response to the story of a Caucasian woman who tried to apply for an administrative assistant’s job in the federal ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, only to find the competition was restricted to aboriginals and members of a visible minority. Such a practice is permitted under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is intended to help government meet diversity hiring targets.

Jason Kenney, the minister of Citizenship and Immigration, said he was shocked by the woman’s story and consulted with Mr. Day, who has oversight of the public service. Hiring should be decided on merit, not ethnicity, Mr. Kenney said.

“We can continue to achieve greater diversity in the public sector without prohibiting people from applying for jobs on the grounds of their race or ethnicity,” Mr. Kenney said. “It’s a very simple principle and I think it’s something the vast majority of Canadians would appreciate.”

The review raised concerns with the Opposition, who accused the Conservatives of abandoning vulnerable groups for the sake of motivating their political base.

The woman who applied for the job is Sara Landriault, an Ottawa-area blogger and mother.

“The question was my race and gender, I answered white and the application as a whole stopped and said I did not meet the criteria for this position,” Ms. Landriault said in an e-mail Thursday. “I do not wish to take anyone’s job, my only wish was to be allowed to apply based on my qualifications. No government should have the right to ask you your race or gender to see if you are qualified for a job. That is discrimination.”

NDP MP Pat Martin said he supports extraordinary measures to get the federal government closer to its employment-equity targets.

“We shouldn’t apologize for doing that. Sometimes the pendulum has to swing the other way before it finds balance in the middle,” Mr. Martin said. “I think Stockwell Day and Jason Kenney are pandering to their neo-conservative base. They’re using an anomalous incident to attack the whole notion of employment equity and affirmative action.”

Liberal MP Marcel Proulx also attacked the Conservative position.

“If they do what they’re trying to do then there won’t be any protections for aboriginals and visible minorities,” he said. He accused the Conservatives of using this controversy to try to divert attention from the resignation of the head of Statistics Canada over the census. The Liberals said the two controversies, taken together, suggest the Conservatives don’t want to see the country as it really is.

Mr. Kenney scoffed at that notion.

“Excluding Canadian citizens from applying for employment in their government is profoundly illiberal. What we’re articulating here is an essentially liberal value of equality of opportunity and equality under the law. If the Liberals were true to their liberal values they would see that,” Mr. Kenney said. “I don’t have any problem with employers taking into account the objective of diversity in the hiring process. If someone merits the job we don’t object to that being a consideration.”

Myer Siemiatycki, who teaches politics at Ryerson University, said the policy review raises alarm bells.

“It’s an announcement that has echoes of the politics of the census decision. It’s about optics, it’s about sending a signal to the traditional base of the Conservative Party about the kind of harder line social conservative positions that the Conservative party has tended to say they’ve left behind but seem to be returning to,” he said.

“The reality is that this Act is in place for a reason. There is a dramatic under-representation of these groups to whom it applies in the public service. ... This Act is intended to remove barriers and level the playing field.”(The Globe and Mail)

EMPLOYEE RESIGNATION

Susan Heathfield's information about the employee who has resigned from his company may put some light for employees and employers on this delicate issue.
Maybe you'll get some ideas...



How to Handle an Employee Resignation
Dealing With an Employee Resignation Depends ...
By Susan M. Heathfield, About.com Guide

Face it. Sooner or later, even the best employer has employees resign. They think they've found a better opportunity or their spouse has accepted a job out-of-state. The reasons are endless for an employee resignation. But, each employee resignation poses the employer with a series of questions. How do you announce the employee's resignation? Who needs to know what about the employee's resignation? When do you tell your employees about the employee's resignation? Here are answers to the questions you may have about employee resignation.
An employee has just resigned. The norm is that the employee tells you verbally that he or she is resigning from your company. Immediately ask the resigning employee for a resignation letter in writing with their final date of employment stated. This protects you from unemployment claims and other charges of impropriety.
Dealing With Employee Resignation
An employee resignation always causes some disruption in the workflow, however, if the employee resigning is valued and you decide to let him or her work their final two weeks, they can do a lot to make the transition successful. This assumes that you have assessed that the individual will remain a positive contributor until their final day.
They can wrap up loose ends, provide details about ongoing projects, and email friends and coworkers about their leaving. Make sure you assign employees to pick up the work of the departing employee. They will have a head start if they can confer with the person leaving to understand the challenges and details of their job. Additionally, if the employee resigning has customer contact responsibilities, they can provide an introduction to the person who will be picking up their responsibilities.
You might ask administrative employees, and others who have jobs with clear and documentable responsibilities, to create a procedure manual prior to their departure. But, hopefully, you already have these procedures documented and in place.
Notification to Coworkers and Customers About an Employee Resignation
To notify other employees about an employee's resignation, start by telling the employee's own department about the employee�s resignation. Perhaps call a quick meeting and inform the other employees that the employee's last day is in two weeks. Tell them that you will appreciate their help to pick up any loose ends and inform them to whom the various responsibilities have been assigned.
Your other employees will also want to know the timeline for replacement of the departing employee. Generally, good employees are quite willing to perform extra work or work longer hours to fill in, but they appreciate knowing the time frame during which this will be expected.
With a trusted, valued employee who will be working out their two week's notice, send out an email to notify the other employees immediately of the employee's resignation. You might say something such as: Mary is leaving us to pursue new opportunities at x company. Her last day at our company is: date. Please join me in wishing Mary tremendous success in her future endeavors. We will hold a say good-bye party at Tom's Tavern on Mary's last day. Please join us to wish Mary success in her new employment and to say good-bye.
Of course, before you send this information out, check with Mary to see if she is comfortable with all of the above. She may even have a personal email address that she wants to share so people can stay in touch.
Many of your employees probably knew that Mary was looking and they also know why. Employees like closure when a valued colleague leaves so your graciousness is not only appreciated, it sends a powerful message to the employees who remain. Of course, you will hold an exit interview during which you will become clear about why the employee is leaving.
I am not a believer in making counter offers or in enticing Mary to stay. In her mind, she has already moved on.
How to Notify Employees When the Employee Resignation Is Welcome
The scenario changes if the employee resigning is not valued or you don't trust the person to carry out their responsibilities successfully during their two week's notice. In these cases, tell the employee that you will pay him or her for their time, but their services are no longer required. Follow the additional guidelines in this employment ending check list. And, ask yourself why you continued to employ this individual under any circumstances to avoid repeating your mistake in the future. Firing an employee can be ethical, legal, moral, and appropriate.
To announce the employee's resignation, send out an immediate email to all employees stating that Mary has left the company to pursue new opportunities effective on today's date. You might add that you wish her success in her new opportunities. Communicate also, where any of her responsibilities have been reassigned. You may want to add some details about how and when you plan to seek a replacement due to the employee resignation.